The Ride

The bike I am riding is a new Flying Pigeon PA-02, which was made for the African Market. Specifically it was manufactured for a Ugandan car parts business with the fantastically misleading name of The Nile Fishing Company. It has rod pull brakes; a single 46/20 gear; 28 inch wheels; and weighs 21.2kg, which is the same as 1500 weapons-grade vol au vents if you like your weights old school.

The PA-02 is the best selling bicycle of all time but, as I found out, is now almost impossible to buy in China. At its peak the waiting list for a PA-02 was over a year long and the leader of China, Deng Xiaoping, was citing ownership of a Flying Pigeon as a sign of prosperity.

You can still get one in China, if you really try, for the equivalent of £31.